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West Nile Virus in France

24 October 2017

The Regional Health Agency Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur has reported (in French) that a person carrying the West Nile virus was diagnosed on 20 October in the Alpes-Maritimes department in Nice. This is the first human case reported in France since 2015.

Advice for Travellers

WNV is present in many countries across the world but the risk to travellers is low.

All travellers should be advised to practice Mosquito Bite Avoidance, especially from dusk till dawn during peak transmission times and when epidemics are known to be occurring.

No vaccine is available against WNV.

NOTE: UK Blood Transfusion Services accept donation from travellers returning from areas where there is a risk of West Nile Fever, provided the blood is tested negative for WNV.

  • It is important donors inform the transfusion services about all recent travel outside the UK so the blood can be tested for WNV, as this is not a routine screening test.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service have produced a leaflet which details information about blood donation after travel:

For further advice see West Nile Fever.